THE KNOT. 651 



Fort Conger; described as "light pea-green, closely spotted with brown in small 

 specks about the size of a pin-head." Size, i.iox i.oo (27.9x25.4). 



General Range. — Nearly cosmopolitan. Breeds in high northern latitudes, 

 but visits the southern hemisphere during its migrations. 



Range in Washington. — Not common migrant, chiefly coastwise. 



Migrations. — .S'/rn/f/; May: jMoses Lake, May 14, 1906. Fall: July- 

 August; Point Grenvillc. July 9, 1906. 



Authorities. — Rhoads, Auk, N. Jan. 1803, p. i/. 15. 



Specimens. — I'rov. 1!. 



"\\'HEN King Cantite, or Kntit. had dined on a dish of strange coast- 

 faring birds, he was gracious enough to express to his blushing chef the royal 

 appreciation of the flavor. Whereupon the eager courtiers dubbed the waders 

 Knuts, or Knots, and so they have come down to us — at least so Pennant says ; 

 and Linnaeus, not over-serious (he was a busy man with all of Adam's task to 

 finish) accepted the tradition in 'Triiiga caiiiifiis:' It is certainly fitting that these 

 birds of the farthest north slmuld bear tlie name of some hardy Norseman. 



"Knots had swept down the roaring coasts for centuries, but the mystery 

 was. Where do they come from? v^ir So-and-so was charged to bring back 

 with him fyom the algid North, along with sundry information about the tides, 

 and temperatures, and short cuts to China, a set of Knot's eggs; but he came 

 back empty-handed. Grizzled sea-captains said, 'Lo, here ! lo there ! thev breed' ; 

 but the eggs were not forthcoming. Finally, it was left fnr our own Lieutenant 

 Greely to bring back the first authentic specimen, one taken near Fort Conger, 

 Lat. Si° 44', North, together with the ]>arent bird. \'erily, if we were Knots, 

 even baby Knots, we might stand some show of reaching the .North Pole" 

 (The Birds of Ohio). 



The Robin Snipe are found chietly coastwise, but the}- are nnich more 

 common on tlie Atlantic seaboard than along our sliores ; in fact, in spite of 

 Fannin's comment, ".Abundant during migrations," we hardly count them less 

 than rare on Puget Sound. They mo\-e singly or in small flocks, and may be 

 found on the mud flats as well as sand\- beaches. The plain dark coloration of 

 an adult does not attract attention at a distance, but it is often associated in 

 feeding and in flight with more briglitlv colored birds, notably the Turnstone 

 (Areiiaria iiiDrincUa) . It is moreover. (>ne of the least suspicious of the larger 

 shore birds and decoys readih' to any whistle of its genus. e\'en tho the gunner 

 be standing in plain sight. 



The Knots feed chiefly tipon aipiatic insects, crustaceans, and small l)i- 

 valves. These it secures chiefly from the wake of the receding wave, but it 

 swims also with ease, and does not fear a little Iniffeting on the part of the 



